What is the VPA?

Throughout the state of Vermont, the Vermont Principal’s Association, commonly referred to as the VPA, is best known for their affiliation with high school athletics. Funds from tournament ticket sales go directly to the association, their banners are posted at every playoff event, and their logo is on each trophy. Most Vermonters are aware of their involvement in athletics, but many are unaware of the educational advocacy and professional support they provide to school administrators on a daily basis.

The current executive director of the VPA is Jay Nichols. Mr. Nichols is a former teacher, coach, principal, and superintendent in the state of Vermont. In his role at the VPA, he serves as a consultant to school leaders on a wide range of issues, as well as a mediator between policy makers and school administrators. On a typical day, Mr. Nichols provides expert professional advice to any VPA member that may reach out. Most VPA members are either principal’s, assistant principal’s, athletic directors, or other school administrators, and they are required to pay yearly dues to receive such support. Whether it’s a problem that relates to students or staff, implementing school change, or consulting a school leader through contract issues, Mr. Nichols at the VPA helps guide members through the appropriate process. Mr. Nichols is also often at the State House where he serves as a representative of the VPA. At House Education Committee meetings and hearings, Mr. Nichols will either provide an individual testimony or a joint testimony in conjunction with the Vermont Superintendents Association and Vermont School Boards Association.

In addition, the VPA also provides an array of professional support to school leaders. The VPA sponsors mentoring programs for young, inexperienced school principals, and offers professional development summits on many educational topics. For this year, the VPA held three separate summits that revolved around building a culture of equity in schools. In order to manage the increase in professional development events that the VPA wishes to promote, they have hired another associate director effective July, 1, 2019. Serving in this role will be Mike McRaith, current principal of Montpelier High School. Mr. McRaith will coordinate most of the professional development and mentoring programs, as well as serve as a liaison between the Waddington Leadership Initiative, a program that sends school leaders to the Centerfor Creative Leadership  in Greensboro, North Carolina, and Vermont school leaders.

Click Here to visit the VPA website.

State House: Capacity of the Vermont Agency of Education Reflection

On February 27th, 2019, I attended a Vermont House Education Committee hearing inside the State House in Montpelier. The topic of this hearing focused on the capacity of the Vermont Agency of Education, and in particular, the low staff numbers they currently have working at the agency. In the moments before the meeting, I had the opportunity to meet and speak briefly with Mr. Dan French, Secretary of Education in the state of Vermont. I asked him what the focus of the hearing would be and wanted to get an idea into what his testimony to the House Education Committee would look like. Mr. French proceeded to explain to me how the agency is seriously understaffed, and raised concerns about not only filling those vacancies, but filling them with adequate people for the job. In addition to the lack of employees, Mr. French also shared his perspective on the workload given to the agency by the House Education committee. As initiative after initiative pile up at the agency, the staff begins to feel overwhelmed and people are asked to do things outside of their role, due to their low numbers. Mr French’s testimony and presentation can be viewed here.

One consideration that I took away from the House Education Committee hearing is the idea of filling vacancies inside the agency appropriately. As act 46 has taken place in Vermont, education leaders have been needed at the district level to properly consolidate schools in order to increase student opportunity and achievement. Due to a variety of factors, effective education leaders in Vermont have chosen not to join the agency or made a decision to leave their position at the agency. The mission of the agency is to provide support to people in the field of education, but the reality is that people feel more impactful and fulfilled in their work when they do so in the field, rather than from a state policy position. Recruiting out-of-state candidates has been just as hard, and the agency has faced similar challenges in recruiting employees that has hindered many other job markets in Vermont. As Mr. French pointed out in his testimony, capacity is directly related to the complexity of the work. Through this experience, I have learned that it is imperative for elected officials to be aware and mindful of the makeup and inner workings of the state agencies that work to implement the policy changes they set forth.

Vermont Principals Association Executive Council Meeting Reflection

Through my internship, I had the opportunity to attend the Vermont Principals Association Executive Council meeting on January 31, 2019, at the Stoweflake Mountain Resort in Stowe, Vermont. At the beginning of the meeting, some members announced they would be stepping down from their position on the executive council, and advised standing members to begin to fill the vacancies they would leave behind. This prompted one member on the executive council to ask the executive director if he could create a Google Map that showed where executive council members were represented in the state of Vermont. As the intern, I proceeded to create the Google Map the following week.

After listening to the conversation about their ideas for prospective members and considering my own reflections, I have two important takeaways in regards to the representation of statewide leadership: demographics and gender. Before the January meeting, the demographic representation on the VPA executive council heavily favored the schools in the southern part of the state, as well as schools in the far northern regions of Vermont. To an outsider, this may sound balanced, but to anyone that is aware of Vermont demographics, they would question the lack of representation from Chittenden and Washington. This was certainly a concern among members, and many requested to search for prospective members from these regions of the state. Chittenden County serves the largest number of public school students in the states, and it would only be appropriate to represent these students, teachers, and administrators as a statewide advocacy association.

Another important factor that executive council members were mindful of was the representation of gender on the council. Prior to the meeting, the VPA executive council was already balanced in the representation of gender, but the executive director stressed that they should keep an equal balance of numbers between male and female. Both a male and a female chose to step down from the executive council, so they plan to fill their positions, in regards to gender, accordingly.

Vermont Superintendent's Association Member Meeting Reflection

Dan French, Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Education, spoke to many Vermont Superintendents Thursday January 17, 2019. Mr. French highlighted his perspectives on educational issues that affect communities statewide, and in conclusion, believes that the Vermont education system is overly complex for its size and total number of students. He believes that the complexity of the system interferes with the ability to ensure quality and equity to all students. In addition, he believes the current system is inefficient in addressing a population that is declining and Vermont public school numbers have reduced.

Mr. French proposed the Greatly Simplified School District model, which ultimately would be one school district for the entire state. Other topics were explored, but superintendents were left uneasy and held a passionate conversation around the GSSD model. The purpose of this model is not only designed to simplify the school system in Vermont, but also to “meet unmet needs”. The “unmet needs” that the agency of education highlights in their January report include: encouraging student voice, increasing public engagement in student outcomes, supporting open education and open curriculum processes, and giving schools more resources for communications and outreach.

The report released in January can be read here

Other benefits in regards to positive community engagement can be viewed below

 





I am not entirely sure what the implications would be, but some believe it would create a more organized and coherent allocation of funds towards education, paralleled with funds from Human Services to create a more equitable educational experience for all Vermont students. Act 46, the previous governance reform on education that consolidated schools, has already produced outrage and lawsuits from communities, and many believe this proposal would exponentially increase those concerns.